Kukla's Korner Hockey

Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren on Thursday said the following about a report involving center Peter Forsberg talking with the Colorado Avalanche about a possible return to his old team from the Flyers.
“Colorado is a team that has asked about [Peter Forsberg], and our stance all along has been that when we get to that point with Peter, we will get to that point. But, we haven’t gotten to that point.
“I have talked to Peter a few times but not about a) whether he wants to be traded and b) if he does, where do you want to go? So, our focus has been with getting his skate/foot issues fixed and possibly doing something with the Flyers on a longer term. All of this other stuff, in my opinion, is a bunch of [nonsense] stirred up by whoever.”

Media and fans always have their say on NHL players. So, in the spirit of All-Star week, we took it to the players. We contacted all 30 teams and asked them the following questions. The only stipulation: Players could not use anyone from their teams for their answers. We heard from 141 players, or roughly 20 percent of active players. Here’s what they told us:

[A] new skate blade technology will soon impact the league. A handful are testing it right now: CT Edge Skate Design (see www.ctedge.com). The innovative skate blade makes a huge difference in glide and the slight flare at the bottom makes the blade less hollow, which means less plow into the sometimes soft NHL ice. Players can turn hard without losing their edge.

The “Edge” blade is intriguingly simple design—bevelled-out the edges on skate blades distribute a player’s weight over a larger surface area, which reduces friction. The skate doesn’t “bite” as deeply into the ice, so less skating energy’s lost from friction. The wider distribution of weight on turns also increases maneuverability.

Forward Mikael Samuelsson has a broken right foot and will miss at least two weeks, Wings coach Mike Babcock said Thursday. He said it happened when Samuelsson blocked a shot in Saturday’s game in Colorado, but the club didn’t know it was broken until he had X-rays taken on Thursday.

7Sports has confirmed Peter Forsberg talked with Colorado Avalanche officials about returning to the team this season.
It has gone horribly wrong in Philadelphia and Forsberg wants to come back to the team he helped win two Stanley cups.

While most of the uniform-based attention at the NHL All-Star game was focused on the players’ new Reebok-designed attire, another uniform story went largely unheralded and unnoticed.
Referees were wearing silver armbands, instead of their usual orange, and ESPN.com has learned that this change will be made permanent next season.
“It’s coming for next season,” NHL spokesperson Nirva Milord said in an e-mail from the All-Star Game in Dallas. “We’re just giving it a consistent look with the new NHL logo.”

Ted Saskin is facing yet another challenge to his leadership of the National Hockey League Players’ Association, with a majority of the 30 union-player reps approving an independent investigation into his hiring.
The probe was announced Thursday in a release from a New York-based public relations company as players and officials were scattered across the continent following Wednesday night’s all-star game.
“This is an informative investigation that we feel will preserve the integrity of our NHLPA constitution and leadership process,” Mathieu Schneider, a Detroit Red Wings defenceman and interim NHLPA executive committee member, said in the release. “The purpose of the investigation is to clear the air, produce clarity on these questions and fortify a strong unified union.”

Something called the “Rail Cam,” a high-definition camera that raced along the top of the glass - and the bottom of the television screen.
It kept catching my eye, like a mouse darting through the garage.
“What was that?!”
It was, in fact, another misguided NHL attempt to make its game television-friendly.
Stop trying so hard, people. If it’s the speed of the game you’re trying to convey, forget it.

(On Tuesday’s Young Stars game) “We know who those people [in the upper levels] are,” one league official stated emphatically on Wednesday. “We know they paid to be here. And that’s not the game we wanted to showcase. We can’t sell the game with an effort like that. The fans deserve a better effort than that. We made that clear to the players [taking part in the All-Star Game]. It has to be better.”

So the league can consider Tuesday’s black eye sufficiently covered up by Wednesday’s All-Star tilt. Here’s hoping they don’t forget the lesson learned about playing a game that at least somewhat resembled hockey.
Of course if it slips their mind, the fans who actually paid to be there will be sure to remind them.

In the Penguins’ search for a new home, put Vegas on the shortlist. If the Pens stay in Pittsburgh, then push for moving the next team that relocates to the city of desert and lights. No offense to Kansas City or Portland or Winnipeg. But put a team in Las Vegas, Mr. Bettman. Don’t be afraid.
In an e-mail, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said he didn’t think the league had a definitive position on the possibility of putting a franchise in Vegas but “certainly, there would likely need to be some changes to current practices” for Las Vegas. He said he was not in a position to say what those changes might be.
A change is necessary—in the mentality of league management.